First Moon
by Aerlinniel722
Summary: Klaus and Elijah think that they know the beautiful brunette wolf-turned-hybrid in their presence, but with Klaus, Hayley, and Hope on the run from his enemies, her own past is about to surface in with most unexpected ramifications and revelations. Halijah paring, friendly Klayley.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** Characters, settings, recognizable plot and dialogue belong to Julie Plec, the CW, etc.. I own nothing, and am just borrowing these lovely characters for a short while for fun.

 **AN:** Begins at end of The Originals: "An Old Friend Calls" (3x15). Spoilers in this chapter goes through "Alone With Everybody" (3x16). Please review! Feedback very welcome!

1.

I sat in the car outside of the latest place that I had called home. Although this was far from the first time that I had been forced to run, unlike before I had actually thought that I would call New Orleans home for good. Or rather, I had hoped to. As I glanced in the rearview mirror, at my beautiful baby girl, I supposed that I had tempted fate one too many times. In hoping that New Orleans could be her home too, fate had needed to show me who was really in charge. Oblivious to my own inner turmoil, Hope gave me a bright baby smile, cooing softly as I heard footsteps, and a moment later the brush of humid New Orleans air. My eyes met Klaus's in the rearview, though I refused to turn and physically acknowledge him even as I stubbornly ignored the second burning gaze that I could feel from the upper balcony of the Mikaelson house.

"I trust you've said your goodbyes." Klaus said softly, as I stared resolutely out the windshield, locking down on my own torn emotions.

"Something like that." I replied dully, a dark haired man appearing in my mind's eye, his handsome hard-cut features and compassionately understanding gaze as I let out a shaky breath and pushed away the second apparition of a more scruffy brunette man who watched me with sad loving eyes. I felt an all too familiar pang of guilt and swallowed it back.

"We may be gone for quite some time." Klaus looked back at the road, one hand resting on the smooth leather steering wheel.

"It's worth it to keep Hope from what's coming." I found myself replying, though whether it was to convince Klaus or myself I was not sure. "Besides," I turned my head in his direction, but found myself unable to actually meet his gaze as I turned away again, "there's nothing here for me anymore." It felt like a lie and yet I forced myself to believe my own words. With time, I thought, Elijah would move on and I could heal from Jackson's death and honor him as I had been unable to during his life and especially throughout our marriage.

"Well then," Klaus sighed, "perhaps we have more in common than we thought." I looked across the front seat console at the Original Hybrid, remembering the first time that I had thought we shared commonalities.

Inwardly I also wondered what had happened between him and Camille, the brave blonde bartender newly turned vampire. Especially whilst she was still human the two had a special connection, but it seemed that since her turn Cami had changed, and it did not appear to be for the better. Still, just as he did not ask what had happened between his brother and me, I did not ask about him and Cami.

Klaus glanced back at where our daughter sat, and I caught the flash of his dimples as he smiled at her, and the engine revved as he put the car into gear and flicked on the headlights with a smooth motion. He pulled smoothly down the damp street, the bright reflection of the lights on the pavement reminding me of another night almost a decade ago when I had been in a car fleeing my home and everyone I loved.

* * *

"Little Wolf?" My eyes snapped open to find that the car was parked in a hotel-chain parking lot. His voice was soft so as not to wake our sleeping daughter.

"Where are we?" I asked groggily.

"Just outside of Nashville." He replied, opening his door. "I'm going in to secure us a place to stay. I wanted to know if you want your own room." I blinked in surprise at the gesture.

"One room is fine, just get two beds." I replied after a moment, thinking of Hope, and that it would be undoubtedly safer to have both of us with her, not to mention that neither of us truly wanted to part with our daughter.

"Stay alert then, Little Wolf." He said, disappearing inside the brightly lit lobby.

I looked back at our sleeping little girl, and then got out of the car into the cool early spring night. Worried that Hope would be cold in spite of her mystical lineage I went to the trunk, slinging her bag over my shoulder after removing her blanket. She let out a sleepy groan of complaint as I took her from the warm car seat, but as I cradled her to my chest she settled once more. Klaus was back out by the car a few seconds later, retrieving his duffle and my own before leading us inside the warm hotel. We rode in silence to the fifth floor and he brought me to room 508, smoothly sliding the key card in and opening the room for me and our precious cargo.

There were two queen sized beds beside each other, and just as I was beginning to lower Hope onto one bed there was a soft knock on the door and a boy appeared with a hotel crib. Klaus brought it inside, compelling the young man to enter as well. He took Hope from me, and gestured to the man.

"I thought you might be thirsty." He offered.

"What about you?" I asked, taken aback by his demonstration of courteousness.

"I already ate. It didn't really take the receptionist that long to check us in." He replied, and I moved over to the man, catching his gaze as I compelled him to stay silent and still and to feel no pain.

He acquiesced with a slight inclination of his head, and without ceremony I sank my fangs into the soft skin over his jugular. The warm rush of blood rejuvenated me, reminding me of how good blood was right from the vein rather than from the bags that I had been consuming. When I was finished the man was pale and swaying. I quickly bit into my own wrist, feeding him just enough to get him the rest of the way through his shift and home without incident and then compelled him to forget and sent him on his merry way.

"It tastes better than those bags, and you revel in it, don't you." Klaus's voice was silent, though his expression was sincere and serious as he watched my euphoria.

"What I eat is none of your business." I replied, reminding myself that this man who was attentive and considerate was the very same one who had once dispassionately called for my and my baby's deaths, and had more recently had cursed me, my husband, and my pack to being wolves for all but one night of the month. In those months, I glanced at my daughter, Hope had grown and taken her first steps and I could never in my long immortal life regain those precious moments.

"I'm taking a shower." I had to leave the room and Klaus's presence.

He said nothing, sensing the change in my mood, the edge, and I disappeared into the comfort of the shower's hot spray, becoming enwrapped in the scent of cheap hotel soap and shampoo. When I used it all up, I didn't care, and in the limited privacy of the bathroom I cursed myself inwardly for deciding that it was alright to share a room with Klaus. Determined, however, not to show how upset he made me, I refused to demand my own room so instead I toweled dry, applied copious amounts of the watery lotion, changed into my PJs and brushed my teeth to delay my inevitable return to the shared space. With no more reasons to stall I exited the bathroom, and without acknowledging Klaus I climbed into the bed that was closest to the bathroom as he appeared to have claimed the one by the window. I preferred the natural light, but I was not in the mood to fight considering that he seemed determined to have it.

Klaus announced that he was going to shower, and by the time that he emerged I was feigning sleep as though I had not just lain there listening to the sound of the water on his naked skin. While I could honestly say that I held no romantic feelings for Niklaus Mikaelson, he was the father of my child and certainly still attractive. Why my sex drive seemed at least for the moment to be on overdrive I was not sure, but I wanted to attribute it to my turbulent emotions all things, including my current status with Elijah, considered.

In spite of my inner annoyance with myself Klaus's scent filled my nostrils, his breathing filling my ears as my own pulse thrummed and I hated myself all the while. In between us I could hear our daughter's more rapid heartbeat and baby light breaths. I tried desperately to focus on her instead of Klaus, but it was a hard feat, and I was not exactly succeeding.

"The full moon affects you, doesn't it?" He asked quietly and I blinked in the darkness, staring up at the white popcorn ceiling of the room.

"What do you mean?" I asked carefully, knowing that what he said was true.

I had lost track of the days in my grief over Jackson's death. Automatically, a knot began to form in my throat at the mere thought of the steady male who had loved me so much. Sure, I had loved Jackson back, selfishly craving the stability of a family that he had promised and reveling in his acceptance of all of me, the good and the bad. However, my affection and gratitude, hidden in the guise of love, had not been enough and ultimately Jackson had died because I was too selfish and weak to stop Tristian De Martel.

"Your emotions, your primal needs as a wolf, they surface. Your wolf is looking for her mate, grieving him and set simultaneously on protecting her pup." Klaus's answer slid through the darkness, interrupting my self deprecating reflection and I swallowed quietly. He was exactly right. The restlessness, the emotions, the desire for sex, it was all just the way that I felt when the full moon was approaching. Although I no longer had to turn, the aspects of my wolf nature remained and appeared to rise without fail. Now, without Jackson at my side to protect me, my wolf knew that Klaus could provide both for me and Hope, and she was reaching out instinctively, seeking the male alpha to rule and protect her offspring with.

"Do you feel the call of the moon?" I finally asked, caving and accepting his olive branch.

"All wolves do." He said simply, and we retreated into silence, personally reflecting on what it meant to be a wolf and how the full moon did indeed "call" to us for lack of a better term.

"What happens now?" I finally forced myself to ask, but only after I half wondered if he had fallen asleep.

"Now, we run and we protect our daughter." He replied, steely determination running in an undercurrent through his voice.

"But where?" I turned my head on the over-starched hotel pillow, and my hybrid eyes picked up on how he looked steadily back to me.

"Do you have a suggestion, Little Wolf?" His eyes gleamed in the dark, almost seeming to dare me to take our family's future in my own hands.

"I think I know somewhere safe where we would be off grid. We could stay, not have to be constantly driving and give Hope some stability." I spoke half without realizing what I was proposing.

"Where?" Klaus asked.

"Somewhere from my past." I replied, wondering if I really wanted to open that can of worms while I simultaneously realized that I no longer had a choice. Just like I had agreed to share a room with Klaus, there was no real way to back out of this offer either.

"Can you trust these wolves?" He made the automatic assumption that my contacts were wolves, and I did not need to correct him.

"I do. With my life." Klaus fell silent as the familiar faces surfaced in my mind's eye.

Steadfast Hollis who had opened his home, and bar, to me when I was a renegade teen-turned-wolf. Loyal Gram who had sat so patiently with me as I tried to come to terms with what I was, and who stuck up for me as I was the new wolf. Sue, our fierce Alpha Female who had quickly let me know that while she might be like a second mother to me she also was not a wolf to cross. They were only a few of the faces of the close to twenty-strong pack who had taken me in with few questions, simply giving me a place where I could learn both about the mystical world and about myself.

"How far are they?" I blinked in surprise at Klaus's quiet acquiescence.

"We're by Nashville?" I verified.

"Twenty minutes out." He responded.

"A day's drive then." I said, remembering that we no longer had to worry about over zealous cops.

"You can drive then tomorrow then." I was expecting more of a fight, but clearly he was not going to give me one so I decided that now was not the time to contest this strange peace.

"Okay." I told him simply before closing my eyes.

* * *

The next morning after a subpar continental breakfast we hit the road again. Although Klaus had told me that I could drive, he refused at first to give me the keys, and we sat mostly in silence. We stopped periodically throughout the day to refill the car, feed and change Hope, and compell cops who apparently found our cruising speed of over one hundred and fifty miles per hour offensive.

Finally, as we were getting closer we pulled over to refill again and purchase more supplies. While Klaus pumped the gas I ran into the store. As I was paying for my snacks and supplies I spotted a stand of hats, one of which read "Mother Trucker". Unable to help myself, I added it to the pile, and the expression on Klaus's face as I handed it to him was well worth the $20.

"Absolutely not!" He exclaimed as I passed him the apparently offensive hat in question.

"We need to blend in!" I snapped at him. "You could start by losing the thousand-dollar jacket." I eyed the long black garment that was so out of place in this neck of the woods. In spite of his words the night before, Klaus's opinion of our venture had clearly soured after the day in the car. Considering our current surroundings as he ranted about our current location in comparison to jetting off to somewhere tropical, and no doubt expensively lavish, I had to agree it was not exactly something that I would have either predicted or chosen, but it was going to have to do. We had to go ff grid, and no matter how appealing his suggestions were, they certainly would not qualify as subtle, and for the moment maintaining a low profile meant safety both for Klaus and for Hope, and extension for me. I might still dislike the idea of returning to my past, but I was certain that it was at least relatively safe, and that we would be accepted so long as Klaus didn't mortally offend anyone.

"Look," I replied, my own gaze flashing as my werewolf temper flashed to the surface. We were both alphas in our own right, and neither our personalities nor our wolves liked having to answer to the other. "I'm not the one with an army of pissed-off vampires coming after me." He blinked back at me, his eyes, although still sharp, dimming slightly as he acknowledged my own rage and pent up frustration. "Can I have the keys?" He slammed them into my extended palm with an aggravated sigh.

"On a scale from one to ten, exactly how much am I going t despise this little plan of yours?" He asked before I could march past him into the car. I pretended to think, sending him my own annoyed look.

"I would say," I paused for faux dramatics, "a solid eight-five." I finished as I shot him a mocking smile, snatched the hat from his hands to cram it atop his curls and marched back to the car.

"Oh, good." I pretended not see him roll his eyes, ignored his own dramatic complaint, and said nothing as he climbed into the passenger seat, hat still on head. He did not, however, take off his coat, and I supposed that I had to make some sort of compromise.

* * *

I parked the sleek black SUV outside of the Willoughy Lake Bar, noting how it stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the other bettered and outdated vehicles. Klaus, who had retained his new hat, stepped out of the car with a distinct look of disdain while I carried Hope, content in her carseat, inside.

"Well, I can see why you wanted to come here." As we crossed the threshold into the homey interior with its usual background noise of regular patrons' conversations and country music I fought a growl aimed in Klaus's direction. "I feel safer already." It was like he couldn't help himself, and the bartender, a middle-aged man turned away from his work with a glare intended to send us on our way.

"We're closed." The man stated flatly, not liking Klaus, Hope, and me anymore than the Original Hybrid appeared to like him.

"You don't look closed." Whether Klaus wanted to be here or not there was no saying "no" to him, especially not with such clear derrision.

"We are for you." The bartender replied, and I could see from the golden glint in his eyes that he was wolf who had, no doubt, picked up on Klaus's and my less human nature.

"Well, perhaps you failed to notice the hat?" I sighed at Klaus's weak attempt to intimidate the bartender and blend in.

"I'll take a bourbon. Unless Hollis is still serving that moonshine of his?" I stepped forward, taking charge of the situation before Klaus and the bartender had a chance to increase hostilities.

As though he had heard me, I saw a familiar middle aged black man emerging from the backroom with a smile. "Well, I'll be damned!" He waved off the offending bartender, with an easy gesture that I remembered to always have had a calmingly authoritative feel. "I got this." He told the younger wolf, dismissing him back to his other duties. "It's been a long time since you danced on my bar, Hayley Marshall." He said my name with a knowingly affectionate twinkle in his eye.

"It's been a long time since I danced on any bar." I couldn't help but smile back at him, remembering the good old days while Hollis held out a hand, and I took it, giving him an affectionate smack. Apparently unimpressed at the ease with which I had diffused the tension, Klaus took a seat, rolling his eyes and sighing to show his annoyance.

"I get in a different kind of trouble these days." I confessed to my old mentor, feeling the connection between us begin to rekindle as though it had not been almost a half decade since I had all but fled Hollis's house in the middle of the night like a criminal. "Hollis," he might not be able to actually read my mind, but he knew enough to see the guilt, and that was the last thing that I wanted to bring up right now, "meet Hope." I gestured to my daughter, and the old wolf leaned over the bar counter to beam at my precious baby.

"Oh, look at her!" He exclaimed before toying pointedly with the ring that I had not had the heart to remove. "Ah," he said knowingly, "city boy, huh? Wouldn't have guessed that." He added, casting an assuming glance in Klaus's direction.

"Never underestimate the allure of indoor plumbing." Klaus replied without missing a beat, and knowing that despite Hollis's apparently laid back facade he was unimpressed and becoming edgy, I jumped in before the Hybrid went too far.

"Hollis, this is Klaus. He's my," I trailed off, unsure of how to explain our rather unique situation. "My daughter's father." I finally ended rather lamely, and Hollis's eyes narrowed as he looked over Klaus again, this time with obvious suspicion. As unerringly unhelpful as usual, Klaus gave the senior wolf a trademark Mikaelson smirk.

"We just," I paused, wondering if I hadn't made a big mistake dragging Klaus and Hope up here, "we need a place to lay low." I met my old alpha's stare, hoping that he might have some compassion for the renegade girl whom he had once fathered.

"You picked a pretty rough time for us around here. A lot of folks are giving up on the pack altogether." Although Hollis was smiling at me it was clear from his weathered expression and saddened eyes that things were far from alright in Willoughby. "And, there's something else you should know." His smile faded and his gaze met mine, but before he could say more the phone behind him rang, and he turned to get it.

* * *

With our host otherwise occupied, Klaus took the opportunity to begin his round of complaints anew. I groaned inwardly, my eyes flashing, but before I could snap at Klaus, again, the door opened and an all too familiar scent reached my nostrils. I froze before turning around to come face to face with a ghost from my past.

"Leah?" Her voice sounded the same, her scent, though enhanced thanks to my hybrid status, was just like I remembered it. As I looked her over though, it was clear that Abigail "Abby" Clayton was not the same girl that I remembered. Her formerly willowy figure was replaced with a curvy, slightly overweight stature, blond hair that had once cascaded past her hips in angelic curls was cropped short, barely brushing her collar bones, and her once-bright blue eyes were hardened. The greatest change, however, was her gait. As she stepped across the threshold I could not help but look with dawning horror at how her jeans fell empty around where her calf should have been.

"I'm sorry about that, Hayley," Hollis's words cut off abruptly as he saw who was standing in the doorway, and I whirled back to face him.

"What is this?" My voice was cold. "What is she doing here?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I still don't own anything recognizable from the show.

 **A/N:** So I'm not really sure where this is going, and I'm not giving up on my other story (Harry Potter and the Mikaelson Witch - I know that everyone says that, but really I'm not!) I just can't get Hayley out of my head, lol! I think that this is going to be short, but you never know! Please leave me a review though! I'd love to hear your thoughts and suggestions! In the meanwhile, thanks to everyone who took the time to follow this and favorite, but please review!

* * *

 **2.**

 **Klaus POV**

* * *

"It's not his fault, Lee," The blonde girl began to protest, but Hayley stopped her with a glare that I had seen werewolves and vampires alike pause at.

"I was gonna explain," Hollis began, lamely.

"Were you?" She spat, her eyes flashing gold before she turned to me. "Come on, we're leaving." I frowned, watching Hayley suspiciously, but knowing that this was neither the time nor place to argue. Glad to be able to leave the derelict bar, I stood and lifted Hope's carrier, causing the blonde's gaze to shift to our daughter.

"You have a daughter, Lee?" Her tone held hurt accusation, and I stiffened, watching as Hayley did the same. Her fists clenched so tightly that her finger nails dug into her flesh, drawing blood that my olfactory senses picked up on. Hayley's natural aroma had also changed, and she was emitting the distinctly sour scent of hurt mingled with the richness of her anger.

"Hayley, before you go, that was Kayla on the phone, the store got broke into, and she killed someone." Hollis called as Hayley passed the blonde in the doorway. She paused momentarily by the other woman while I proceeded outside to the car to secure our daughter.

"Is she still in that trailer?" I heard Hayley ask, and I could tell from her wavering tone of voice that her heart was going out to whoever this Kayla was.

"Same exact spot." Hollis replied and she turned, marching in my direction.

"Leah wait!" Abby called after her, but the other woman moved slowly, and Hayley was already in the car, sliding into the driver's seat and revving the engine before the blonde could reach us.

"There's one thing I have to do first." Hayley explained as she threw the car into reverse, peeling out of the parking lot with a squeal of tires and spry of gravel.

"What now?" I demanded, the irritation that had been just under the surface of my composed facade bursting out, as Hayley shot me a look that told me she was unimpressed with my ability to contain myself.

"I have to go help that girl." Hayley replied tersely as she headed towards this girl's trailer. The thin shell that contained my anger ruptured violently.

"Who is she and what was that back there?" I demanded with a growl.

While I might be better than Hayley at containing my wolf's moon sickness as I always thought of it, the full moon was not a time to trifle with me. Especially, not when our daughter's safety was also involved. Certainly, I had been willing enough at first to allow Hayley to continue with this ridiculous plot of hers, acknowledging that like me she had had to give up her home and its security, but that goodwill could only extend so far, and it had clearly run its course. Not only were we hundreds of miles away from any conceivable help, her allies were apparently not quite as welcoming nor as loyal as she had expected. Furthermore, whoever the blonde was, history or not, if she was threat to my daughter, even a minor one, then I would slaughter her and likely the rest of this settlement just as a precaution.

"Her name is Kayla." Hayley, sensing that my minimal patience had reached an end, began to explain. "I used to babysit her, she's scared and alone, and I made a promise a long time ago that I'd be there for her if she ever triggered her curse, and since I actually can be, I'm not about to break that promise." Hayley glared across the console at me, and not for the first time in recent months I saw the wolf queen that the Crescent wolf pack had so readily followed. I did not, however, fail to notice as she ignored the other half of my inquiry.

"And the blonde girl from the bar?" I pressed, my expression and voice hard. "I thought that you said we would be safe here, but that seemed as much a dangerous confrontation as any." The accusation came out as a low growl, and Hope let out an upset gurgle in the backseat at the sounds of what looked to be a big fight coming.

"She's someone from my past." Hayley replied tightly, obviously cagey as her fingers tightened on the smooth leather steering wheel until even I could hear it protesting uselessly against her hybrid strength. Hayley seemed to realize it as well, and exhaling loudly, she let go.

"Someone who you didn't think to mention, yet who drove you from the bar?" I demanded, unable to help myself as a growl tore out of my chest, and Hope began to cry in ernest.

"It's not important anymore!" Hayley exclaimed, clearly unwilling to reveal this little bit of information, a past that she had apparently kept carefully buried without any intention of revisiting it.

"She called you Leah." I pressed, and she pulled the car to the side of the road, a decision that I decided was a good idea instead of continuing to drive while fighting with me and especially while having Hope in the back seat. "You know my past," Hayley leaned her head against the leather seat, closing her eyes and seeming to wishing with all her heart that she could take back this stupid trip down memory lane. Inwardly, I wondered if I offered again to jet us somewhere far away, and preferably tropical, how fast she would jump at my offer, but instead we were seated here, and I was determined to know all of her deepest and darkest secrets.

"I'm waiting for a full explanation, Hayley, or whoever you are, and I would rather hear the story from you, not after I've tortured everyone in that damn bar for information." I threatened, and I could tell that she knew that there was no getting out of this.

Hayley put the car into drive, and pulled off the shoulder, heading down the road.

"Where are we going?" I bit out with another growl. Just when I thought that I had reached her, that she understood that I expected an answer, she continued to openly ignore me.

"Somewhere that we can talk." Hayley replied through a clenched jaw as she pulled the car off to the side, and then got out.

I exhaled slowly, and went around the car, taking Hope's carrier out of the backseat before waiting for her to lead me onwards. In her carrier, our daughter was still upset, but at least had begun to quiet. Looking at Hayley, I could tell that she wanted to take Hope from me, but I given the current situation, that was not an option for her. While I knew that Hayley would rather die than see any harm come to her child, I could not help the need inside of me to protect my child at all cost, even from her own mother. Of course, I also knew that if Hayley were ever to pose a real threat to her or any of the rest of my family then I would end her as quickly as I had dispatched my father and mother.

Hayley sensed that while I could hold on to Hope and kill her with little effort, she could not do the same to me. She hesitated, her dark chocolate gaze locked on her daughter, but her proud posture slumped in, and she forced her fists into her coat pockets.

"Come," she instructed in a flat voice, heading into the woods.

We walked in silence except for the crunching of leaves and other natural debris under our feet. In her carrier, Hope's cries had subsided to little hiccuping breaths, and I knew that both of us wanted nothing more than to stop and comfort her, but instead we pushed resolutely forward. Hayley walked with a purpose, leading me to a clearing where there were various standing brazers and an assortment of weathered objects. Hayley moved with a purpose that told me she had spent many hours here. She turned her back to me, cutting of my view of whatever it was that she examined, and her scent altered, the salty tang of her sorrow permeating the clearing.

"When you triggered your curse, the Pack used to bring you here to leave something from your victim, it was a way of acknowledging what we had done, and of moving on. I didn't trigger my curse here, but they brought me anyways. It took me a while though, to be able to leave something of my own because what I had from my victims were objects that I found special." Hayley turned back to look at where I stood, still holding Hope's carrier in my hand, our daughter having finally fallen into a fitful slumber. She seemed, however, unable to look me in the eye, and quickly she turned back to the item that held her fixation.

"I didn't mean to kill anybody, and not because it would make me a wolf. I was adopted, as you know, and neither my adopted family nor I knew what it meant for me to kill someone. It was an accident, everyone understood that." She took a deep breath and then walked over to a fallen log, motioning for me to join her. "At least, they understood that at first."

"I don't think I can tell you, but I can show you." She said, her gaze meeting mine, and I saw the rare shine of tears in the wolf queen's gaze. I swallowed, and moved over to her, placing our daughter between us as I sat on the log. I was unaccustomed to this kind of vulnerability. She was afraid, yes, but not of me in the way that most people were, and moreover, she was trusting me in spite of the numerous times that I had betrayed her. I placed a gentle hand on her temple, extending my mind to embrace the connection that she offered, and she let her eyes fall closed, the memory sweeping over both of us.

* * *

"Lees, you gotta drive, Abby and I can't." I saw as a much younger Hayley eyed a set of car keys dangling from an older blonde boy's hand. He was, I thought, about eighteen, with a tall, lean athletic figure. He was handsome, with an easy grin, and warm hazel eyes, and I could see that in spite of the situation that he and Hayley were clearly close. He was, I noted, also very obviously intoxicated. I would not be surprised, I thought, if Hayley herself was also at least buzzed, but it did not seem to be the time to speculate.

"His name's Alexander. My adoptive parents named me Leah, but my family called me Lees." Adult Hayley stood beside me, her voice thick with emotion, and for a moment I almost wanted to hug her, but I refrained, watching the scene play out before my very eyes.

"I only just got my permit," Young Hayley, or rather Leah, began slightly worried.

"I was doing well when it came to driving, but our mom had only taken me to the DMV a week and a half ago." Hayley explained to me.

"We'll be with you, it'll be fine." The blonde woman from the bar, also younger, and thinner without a limp, though much more intoxicated, stumbled towards the car.

"Her name's Abigail, she's our older sister." Hayley told me, wiping away a tear, that I decided not to notice.

Abigail's words were slurred, and she leaned heavily on the sedan car as she looked at the other two with unfocused eyes. Leah was clearly concerned as she looked at the two. Twins, I figured, as they bore familial resemblance and also seemed to be the same age. Leah on the other hand, seemed to be about two or so years younger, and out of her comfort zone, though she was evidently close with the twins.

"I was two and a half years their junior, and so when they had invited me to come along to their best friend's place for pizza and drinks I had jumped at the chance. As seniors, they were the coolest of the cool, and also headed off to college soon." Hayley interrupted my speculation, and I nodded.

"Okay," Leah agreed nervously, worrying her bottom lip with her teeth as she approached Alexander's car.

"It was new, or rather, new to him." Leah commented, watching her younger self climb into the passenger seat. A look around the driveway told me that it seemed to be a few years outdated, though I suspected that it was still in perfect working condition, just maybe not quite as snazzy as the other vehicles on the road. As Leah adjusted her mirrors and seat settings, Alexander took the front passenger and Abigail laid down in the back.

"I'm not feeling so good." She moaned, and Alexander shot her a look.

"Just don't puke in my ride." He said, half joking and half serious.

"I'll try." She gave a cheery smile and Leah turned the key in the ignition. The engine turned over, and she backed carefully out of the driveway, putting the car in drive.

"It was a twenty-five minute drive back to our house. We'd lived there for our entire childhoods, and the roads were familiar." Hayley recalled. As we watched, propelled along in her memory, Abby was dozing off in the backseat while Alex was trying with limited success to sober up. "If our parents found out how drunk the twins were, and that they'd brought me as their DD, sort of, then we'd be in a lot of trouble." She said as the car made its mostly steady way back home.

As they rounded a corner, however, suddenly another car came flying haphazardly towards them. I reached out instinctively, taking Hayley's hand, and she looked at me with tears in her eyes. I knew then what would happen as the memory continued.

"I still don't know if it was my alcohol-clouded brain or newness when it came to driving. I'll never be sure if it was even something that I could have done differently." Hayley whispered, and I squeezed her hand in some pale comfort.

As the other car careened towards the car, Leah yanked the steering wheel hard to the left in a vain attempt to avoid the oncoming vehicle. Too late, the other driver tried to get back to his lane, and for a second Leah knew what was going to happen before the events unfolded.

The car collided with an adjacent telephone pole, and I saw as it hit Alexander even as the impact threw Leah's head into the steering wheel. Just before she lost consciousness, there was a sickening crunch of metal, and Abby's horrible scream as the second car crushed the back of the SUV.

* * *

We blinked back to the present, Hope still sleeping at our feet. Hayley was pale, and tears had fallen silently down her cheeks. She swallowed hard, seeming to fight the desire to vomit, and I was sure that in her mind she was still replaying the scene even though I had broken the connection, dropping my hand from her temple. My posture was rigid still, on the alert for any possible danger, but inwardly I was softening once more to this Little Wolf, who had not had it easy in life. Seeming to understand, however, that she had to keep going, Hayley reached out for my hand, bringing it back to her temple as she let her mind turn the clock back once more.

* * *

I found myself this time just outside of an ICU hospital room. Leah looked considerably smaller and extremely frail in the big white bed hooked up to all the beeping machines.

"I was placed in a coma for almost a week, I had several surgeries to keep me from bleeding to death internally, and at first the doctors didn't know if I would even wake up. What no one knew was that I was more resilient, that even without the surgeries I might have made it because I was a wolf now." Hayley said, her tone low out of apparent respect for the hospital setting even though the apparitions around us could neither see nor hear us.

Inside the room, I heard as Leah's heart rate increased slightly, and the machine beeped in a rhythmic echo of the change. An exhausted and grief-stricken blonde woman in her forties looked up with tired bloodshot gaze, as Leah's eyes fluttered open. Beside me, Hayley led the way inside the room, and we watched as her younger counterpart struggled to focus, and then realized that she could not move due to the neck brace.

"Leah?" The woman leaned over the bed, hovering over Leah's limited visual range. "Honey, can you hear me? How are you feeling?" She pressed.

"Mmm." Leah's voice was scratchy with disuse, and her initial attempt at speech failed. Her heart rate leapt again, and her eyes widened with growing panic.

"I'll be right back, I'm just going to get a doctor." The woman said.

"My adoptive mother." Hayley watched dispassionately as the woman passed by us, unaware of any audience. "I remember I could hear her heeled shoes on the linoleum tile. I heard her talking at the nurse's station and it was like she was still in the room. Those were the first changes that I experienced, but I had no way of knowing why my senses were so sharp and at first it took me a while in my medicated haze to even realize that what I was sensing was actually not normal." Hayley recalled, and then we paused, listening to her mother at the desk.

"My daughter, Leah Clayton, she's awake, please, can you call for Doctor Reed?" I glanced sideways at the woman who I knew as Hayley Marshall, and more recently, Hayley Marshall-Kenner. She had told me earlier that she had been Leah, but I still wondered why she had changed her name. She looked away from me, and I waited, knowing that she would explain to me soon enough why she had not only fled her family, but also her identity.

"When she came back into my room the scent of her perfume overwhelmed me. I thought it was the medicine again, that it made me more sensitive. It was a cloying smell that seemed to clog my nostrils, not the pleasant aroma that I previously associated with my mother." Hayley said softly from beside me.

"Mom." Leah managed, and a relieved smile broke out across her mother's features.

"Honey, I'm right here." The woman's voice broke, and tears filled her gaze.

"I knew then that whatever had happened was not good." Hayley said softly, wiping at another tear.

"I'm sorry, mom." Leah managed to say. "Alex and Abby?" She forced the names out, and a tear rolled down her mother's cheek in answer.

"We know it wasn't your fault, Leah, and nobody's blaming you, but there was an accident." As the words left her mother's mouth Leah's hopeful expression crumpled and tears formed in her own dark eyes. Her mother patiently wiped them away, one by one, while her own tears rolled unchecked down her cheeks.

* * *

Hayley took a deep breath, swallowing back the tears that gathered in her eyes as she recalled that horrible time in her short life.

"She explained, as gently as she could, that my older brother Alexander had died immediately." Hayley forced the words out, and I let my hand, which I had removed from her temple, rest on her arm. She ignored it, staring resolutely at a vague point somewhere over my shoulder. "The telephone pole that I had run into had struck his side and killed him immediately. Abigail had been struck by the other driver, and the car had paralyzed her, possibly for good. It crushed her legs and jarred her spine. The worse thing was they didn't know for sure because she hadn't woken up yet. The doctors could only speculate about how much damage there was because they were even more unsure if Abby would even wake up again. Assuming she did, they told us then she might have a better recovery, but with each passing day as Abigail failed to wake their predictions grew increasingly grimmer." She wiped quickly at another tear that rolled down her cheek, and I said nothing and made no move either to comfort or stop her.

"I should have still been in the hospital by the time that they buried Alexander, but I exceeded all expectations, and healed far faster than the doctors thought possible. It was the worst thing that I ever saw. There was a service and a wake before the actual burial. I laughed when the minister said that we'd miss him." She wiped away another tear. "It was so inadequate, and yet it was the best that he could say. My parents thought later on that they shouldn't have let me go, but I think that might have ben worse because it took seeing his coffin and knowing that he was inside to actually make me realize that he was really gone."

"That girl in the barn, she's Abby isn't she?" I said out loud, confirming what we both knew at this point.

"I never thought I'd see her again." Hayley confirmed.

"Why did you leave?" I asked making my voice soft as she made herself meet my gaze.

"Because things didn't stop with Alex's death and Abby's injuries." Hayley brought my hand back up to her temple, and we lost ourselves once more in her memories.

* * *

"I had been feeling off ever since Alex's death, and it was unsurprising. I had, after all, lost my brother and my sister, but even more than that I was restless and angry. The counsellor who I'd been forced to see had told me that everyone handled grief differently, and that there were many stages and ways of expressing it." Hayley explained to me as we watched her younger counterpart sit listlessly on the couch, flipping through various television channels.

"It was two weeks after I had come home, however, that I snapped. My mother kept bringing up the subject of school. It was September, and the twins were supposed to have left already, and the start of my junior year loomed ahead. I was not, however, ready to face the mass of attention-seeking sympathizers. I had never had a lot of friends, I was very attached my siblings and one best friend, Hannah, but I had snapped at her and she had stopped coming by. I supposed her mother had advised her to give me time, and I did not bother to reach out to her." Hayley spoke, the words tumbling helplessly out of her while we could hear a car pulling up in the driveway, and her mother entering while her father came out of what appeared to be an office of some sort.

"Leah?" Her mother began, setting a folder down on the smooth kitchen table while her father came to the doorway. There was no reply from the teen, who kept petulantly flipping the channels.

"I just went to the high school, Leah, to ask them about what you should do about this fall." Her mother bravely soldiered on.

"I don't care because I don't want to go back!" Leah's calm facade shattered as she shouted at her mother, throwing down the remote as storming out of the open living room through the kitchen past her mother. It was clear, I thought, that this was not the first time that a discussion about this subject had been attempted.

"Leah Clayton come back here!" Hayley's mother shouted back.

"No!" Leah replied. "That's not even my name!" She exclaimed, although for a moment it seemed a though she wasn't sure what made the words tumble out, but they had, and her mother recoiled.

"Leah!" Her father joined the argument as her mother watched with a heart-broken expression.

"I don't care! I just want to be left alone!" Leah shouted, racing up the stairs, two at a time.

Hayley and I followed the teen up to her room. As the shadows lengthened she lay on her bed, and let the tears stream unstopped down her cheeks. I took the opportunity to snoop. The walls were a lavender color, with a mix of posters on the walls, from female athletes to bands. Her bookshelf had mainly CDs rather than books, and a few movies. Her mirror had photos of herself with one or both of the twins and occasionally also her parents. There were a few with other children her age, but the images with her family dominated the collage. Her dresser was littered with a hairbrush, hair ties, and a random collection of nicknacks. Hayley looked around the room, watching silently as I walked through it. Neither of us said anything because there was nothing to be said.

"I was hurting bad." I had walked over to Leah, looking at the tears coursing silently down her cheeks. I glanced up at Hayley who looked down at her younger self with a look of mingled pity and sorrow. "I realized how much I missed my siblings who had been my best friends. They had always spoiled me rotten, but this time no amount of tears could bring them back." Outside, the late afternoon sunlight had faded and the glow of the moon took over.

"This is your first full moon." The words were soft as they slipped out, and Hayley nodded.

"At first, I thought that it was just psychological pain, but I became increasingly aware that the acute aches in my body were something else." Hayley explained. "At first I worried that it was from a residual injury from the car accident, and I wanted to call out for my parents, but I was too scared too. Then the pain became so much that I couldn't help it."

As if on cue, Leah cried out. "Mommy! Daddy!" I heard her parents on the stairs, as she curled in on herself in a familiar agony. Her mother burst into the room, hugging her daughter tight to her chest.

"David, what's wrong with her?" She demanded, looking helplessly at her husband who was equally clueless.

"I don't know, Helen." He replied, pressing a hand to his daughter's sweat-soaked brow.

"It hurts!" She moaned, writhing in her mother's grasp.

"Call 9-1-1!" Her mother insisted, but before her father could get to the phone we all heard the harsh cracking of bones. Looking down, her fingers had broken replacing her short-trimmed nails with long yellow claws. The three Claytons looked in horrified confusion at the change.

"David!" Her mother screamed, and he raced back into the room, phone in hand.

"What the hell?" Her father snatched her mother away from Leah, shielding her with his body, as the girl looked desperately to her parents for help, and was turned away.

"Her eyes!" Her mother whimpered as Leah's chocolate orbs turned gold. At my side, Hayley stood tense.

"She's not human!" Her father exclaimed, as her younger counterpart fell off of her bed onto her hands and knees, writhing with pain as her skeleton continued to undergo the change. "Get out!" He shouted at her, and at my side Hayley tensed.

"It's a memory, you can't do anything for her." I grabbed her arm as she took a step as though to help her younger self. Her father was backing her mother away from the door, protecting her I realized, from Leah. Without another option, we could only watch as she crawled and stumbled down the stairs and outside into the backyard, and then, driven by her parents' fear, she fled into the woods.

* * *

"I don't remember much else after that. Just the pain. I didn't understand what was happening, and the next thing I knew I woke up naked and covered in blood in the middle of the woods, who knew where." Hayley recalled, her voice hard and flat. "I knew I had to get clothing and money, and that a shower or some kind of wash up was also going to be a high priority. I didn't really know the way back to my house, but my instincts, my wolf, she knew the way home. I ran naked into my house. They'd locked the doors so I broke in. I showered to get the blood off, and pulled on the first clothes I found. I packed the cash from my summer job, some clothes, and a few things that I couldn't bear to leave behind." She looked back to the hollow of the tree where she had been, and stood.

When she turned back around she held a weathered baseball and a rusted bracelet in hand. Hayley didn't meet my gaze as she walked back over to me, holding both objects in one hand. Silently, she extended another palm, and I delved back into her mind.

* * *

The shower was running, and we could hear the sounds of her washing from inside as a sweetly tangy orange scent reached our noses. The water had cut off, and Leah was half dressed when we heard the front door open, and froze.

"Leah Clayton?" It was an unfamiliar voice called out downstairs, and she appeared, throwing on a shirt and running around her bedroom, gathering a few last essentials while human officials searched the downstairs.

"Come on down, Sweetie!" A glance out of the window showed a police cruiser, and I felt a flash of pride as I saw the determination that glinted in the Little Wolf's gaze as she threw her duffle bag out of the window and followed it with preternatural speed and agility.

"Stop!" There were footsteps on the stairs as Hayley and I watched her younger self running across the backyard and into the safety of the woods. Blue-uniformed police officials rushed into her room, watching out the window with us. Downstairs, we could hear as someone called after her. "Leah Clayton!" I could also heard the dispatches, narrating her escape into the woods, and calling on backup, but Leah kept running. The rough footing barely giving the young wolf pause, as she vanished in a matter of seconds.

"Damn, that girl's fast." A male cop turned to his female associate. "We'll never find her if she doesn't want to, mark my words." She nodded in silent agreement before ordering further patrols to keep an eye out.

* * *

 **AN:** So I hope I didn't confuse you with the distinction between Hayley and Leah. I tried writing it using "Hayley" and "young Hayley" but that sounded clunky and awkward, so in case you missed it: Hayley was originally named (by her adoptive parents) Leah Clayton, and in the memories young Hayley is called Leah. (Hope I didn't just make that even more confusing!) Anyways, please, please, please leave me a review! I'd love to hear from you guys (what do you think? Any suggestions?)! And, on another note, wow on the season finale, that sure was an intense end of season on _The Originals_! Not sure yet how I feel about it all, but I am definitely interested to see where they pick it up in the Fall!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I still own nothing that infringes on the CW's rights/Julie Plec and her team's creativity! I'm just doing this as a hobby!

AN: Thanks for the continued support, but please, please, please, if you like it leave me a review? ;) I'm also looking for any suggestions or ideas. I had this idea, but now I'm not sure where it's headed so input would certainly be most welcome!

* * *

3.

Abigail POV

* * *

I stood frozen in the driveway, watching as the dust from the sleek black SUV, with my sister inside, cleared.

"Abby," Hollis exited the bar slowly, his dark eyes sad.

"I'm going after her." I made my own arduous way towards my beat up ride, and Hollis sighed, but said nothing.

"I'm coming with you." I had only barely gotten into the driver's seat by the time that Javin hopped inside beside me.

"I don't need protection. She's my sister." I snapped, and he raised a single eyebrow in skepticism.

"You knew Leah Clayton, she was your younger sister, Hayley Marshall was already very different when she arrived here. Now, she's something even more." Javin said carefully.

"Ever since I got here, Jay, you've been telling me how you wolves aren't really any different from the rest of us humans. Sure, you get a bit angrier, you've all murdered someone, but you still have friends and family and love and hate and fear, so why isn't that woman still my sister, my Leah?" I shot back.

"Because she's not just a wolf anymore." Javin said, and I froze.

"What do you mean?" I asked carefully.

"That man, the one she was with, the father of her child, that's Niklaus Mikaelson, the infamous hybrid, and whatever happened with him and your sister, he's made her into something like him and that means that all bets are off." I looked evenly over at the man, who in the past year that I had been staying in Vermont with the Green Mountain Pack, had become my best friend.

"She's still my sister, and if there's any of the girl she was with me or when she first came here still there then I have to try." I said simply, and Javin sighed, but when I turned on the car he stayed resolutely with me.

"I'm coming." He said as I looked across at him, and I nodded silently.

* * *

We pulled out of the parking lot at a much more sedated pace, heading down the road to Kayla's place. When we arrived there was no sign of them, but Kayla hurried out of her trailer at the sight of us. She went immediately to Javin, who wrapped the kid in a tight hug.

"It's going to be alright." He told her, while I looked around.

"Has anyone else been by?" I asked, and Kayla looked up, frowning over at me.

"No." She said, and I nodded once, making my slow way over to her, though she did not move from Javin. "Who would you be expecting?" She asked softly, her eyes wide as she regarded me.

"Hayley's back." Javin replied, and for a moment I frowned at the use of Leah's other name.

"What?" Kayla lifted her gaze to Javin, a spark of what I would almost consider hope, flaring in her dark chocolate brown eyes.

"She was in at the bar, Abby and I figured she was on her way here." Kayla fought a look of obvious disappointment as she realized that Leah was apparently not coming. Before she could voice it, or Javin could otherwise soothe her, however, there was a soft crackling of leaves and other dead forest debris that even I could hear. I turned, and saw my baby sister emerging from the forest.

* * *

In the years since I had last seen Leah she had matured, and become a gorgeous young woman. She had grown from a lanky, and somewhat oddly proportioned teen to a graceful beauty. Her dark brown hair hung in shinny curls rather than unbrushed wisps, and she dressed in a casual style that belayed the wealthy lifestyle that she was apparently enjoying. The most startling change, however, were her eyes. No longer did she appear youthfully innocent, instead, the orbs told of the pain that she had endured in her short lifetime.

Behind her, the man from the bar emerged from the woods, walking with a preternatural grace that I realized Leah had also developed. It was clear as she moved into the clearing that the rustling had been a courtesy, and if she had wanted to ghost silently up to us, then she had that ability within her power.

In the man's hand, carried with a relaxed ease, was a baby car seat, their daughter sleeping peacefully inside. It was strange, I realized, to think of Leah having a baby, after all, in my mind she was still my sixteen year old kid sister.

"Hayley?" I heard Kayla whisper, and my sister opened her arms for the girl to fly into.

"I am so sorry, kiddo." My sister comforted, stroking Kayla's hair as the teen finally broke down, and Leah simply held her, knowing that there were no adequate words. Her dark eyes surveyed Javin and I.

"Come on, there's something that I want to show you." Leah looked over Kayla's head, however, meeting my gaze, before looking over towards the man with the baby carrier. She separated from Kayla, moving to the fire that had already been burning in the pit when Javin and I arrived, and lighting one of the torches stacked neatly beside it.

"You can take her back to the car." She offered the man, walking closer to him and gesturing to the baby.

"She's fine. She's sleeping." He dismissed her suggestion, and she nodded once before moving towards the forest, wrapping a protective arm around Kayla's shoulders. As Leah did not tell us not to follow, I glanced at Javin and he nodded once, picking up a torch of his own, before we both followed Leah into the woods.

* * *

We walked for what had to be close to half an hour, although it was clear that the others all slowed to accommodate my own difficult gait. At times they all shot me concerned glances, but I ignored all of them, pressing onwards with steadfast determination.

When Leah finally slowed, I looked around a clearing that at first glance seemed uninhabited. Then, as I looked closer I became aware of wooden braziers placed around the clearing and old, weathered items. Javin's usual humor was gone, his eyes dark and sad as he came over to me, helping me to sit on one of several fallen logs and then began to light the braizers. As I ran my fingers over the wood, I realized, however, that it was smoothed, as though hundreds of people had once sat here. That, I knew, was impossible, but it was, I realized, a special place for what I could only assume was the pack.

"What is this place?" Kayla asked softly as Leah silently helped Javin.

"The pack used to come here when someone triggered their curse. Not to ask for forgiveness, but to accept what they had done. To honour the dead in order to move on." Leah turned to look directly at me, moving away to another spot and taking out something that I couldn't see.

"I don't even know his name." Kayla whispered, and my heart went out to the teen, now made a murderer, and cursed for it. Hayley moved back over to the girl, reaching into another pocket, and withdrawing a wallet.

"Here, this was his." She offered it to Kayla before taking a seat beside her. "I have an old friend in the sheriff's department. He used to get me out of trouble, and I called in a favor." She explained as the girl looked down at the weathered leather in her hands. Slowly, with all our eyes on her she opened it, withdrawing an ID. She rose, and with a nod of approval from Leah, headed towards one of the trees. She hung up the ID, while Leah moved over to me.

"When I came, I left these." She withdrew two items from her other pocket, a weathered baseball and a bracelet that I recognized as my own from a long time ago. "What happened that night, I'll never forget, I can't forgive myself either, but I did move on, I had to. I'm not Leah anymore, I gave her up when I came out here, I'm Hayley now, and she's not the same sister that you knew. I don't know if you can even accept her, Abby, because she's different. She's not innocent like Leah was, she's hard, she's done things, terrible things, and she doesn't regret them." Looking into my sister's eyes I could see the raw emotion reflected there. What she was telling me was undoubtedly the truth. She had changed, she had accepted who and what she was, and she was unapologetic for that change. What I wondered, was whether I could accept her as she now was because she made a point. She was not the same, and I knew that I hadn't expected her to be. After all, I wasn't the same either, but had we grown too far apart to reconcile with each other? It was my greatest fear for certain, and I thought that maybe she was afraid of it too.

"Hayley." She turned as the man called her name.

"What's wrong?" She assumed automatically.

"This man, he's employed by Kingmaker Land Development." The man said, brandishing the badge, while Kayla and Javin looked on in confusion.

"Why would they be here?" Leah frowned, looking back to Kayla. "How would they even know what she is?"

"I don't know, but I'm starting to think that we're not alone." The man replied, putting the carrier down beside me. "Can you fight?" He turned to Javin. "I can." My best friend replied.

"Good." Leah said, and then suddenly the brush around us seemed to explode. She shoved me aside, knocking me from the log.

"Stay down." she ordered me, and then my sister disappeared in a blur of motion that I could not follow, just as the man also disappeared.

* * *

The whole thing was over in a matter of seconds. I was not one who fainted at the sight of gore, but then again I had never seen anything like what happened. There were no less than a half dozen dead bodies, and Leah, my baby sister, emerged covered in blood. I knew that to trigger your curse you had to kill someone, but I had been there the night that Alex had died, I understood what had happened, and for whatever reason I had never assumed that Leah had killed again. Maybe, I had just hoped that because as I looked at her, covered in blood I knew that she had killed before, and more over that there was some part of her that reveled in killing. I looked across at the man who was likewise coated in blood, and I knew that he for sure was a cold hearted killer who would not hesitate when it came to the kill. When I looked back at Leah there was a trace of uncertainty there, but that same steely resolve that the man bore was reflected on her familiar features.

"Who knew that we were leaving?" The man whirled to face Leah, who bristled visibly.

"No one." She snapped. "We've been together this entire time, Klaus. Who would I tell who wasn't already in the know?"

"These wolves, they aren't just disappearing. They are being hunted." Klaus bristled, looking towards Kayla and Javin. "How many have you lost recently?" He demanded.

"Wolves?" Kayla asked timidly.

"Seven." Javin said flatly.

"For how long?" Leah demanded.

"Percy was the first, I got up and his trailer was empty, we thought he left, that was back in April, almost a year ago. He talked a lot about leaving before that, the weather was getting better. He went off on his own a lot." Kayla answered quietly.

"That was before they came to the Bayou." Leah said softly, looking to Klaus.

"But not much before. They were hunting there by July." Klaus said flatly, and there was an odd note of detachment in his voice.

"So they started elsewhere, why?" Leah asked the man, frowning.

"Because all of the wolves, they're part of something bigger. Did they only kill?" He asked.

"They set traps, we couldn't get out, no one was there to help. Most of the wolves died before the Full Moon, and by then the bodies would be gone. They never came if the wolf was alive, we were there, we would have ripped the to shreds, but there was too much land, we didn't know where the next trap would be." Leah's voice was low, tinged with anger and hurt, and in the firelight, the man's blue eyes seemed to gleam all the brighter and I suspected that there was more to the story than what first appeared.

"Who are these men?" Javin interjected, obviously having gone onto a red alert.

"You've seen my shoulder. It marks me, Jay, as a Crescent wolf. When I left here, eventually I ended up in New Orleans, because that is where my birth parents are from." Leah's gaze shifted momentarily to me before going back to Javin. "I was born Andrea Lebonaire, and destined to lead the Crescent pack. I married their alpha, Jackson Kennar to unite the scattered Southern Pack. We did, but we had some complications," her gaze shifted for a fraction of a second to Klaus, "because I am a hybrid, my pack gained my ability to shift at will. However, I was cursed to wolf form, and so all of they were as well. When we were stuck as wolves men came to clear the lands of wolves, they hunted us ruthlessly, and when my curse was broken, I learned that the men were from a company called Kingmaker. Now, this same front appears here, hunting another wolf pack. It's too much of a coincidence." I listened with rapt attention. My sister had married someone else, but from the way that she spoke, and the fact that she was here without him I was unsure of what had happened.

"So you killed them?" Kayla asked softly, her gaze drifting back to the bodies.

"We did what we had to." Klaus replied.

"They deserved it. I know that sounds harsh, but they killed my pack, and as an alpha I will not stand by and watch as my pack is hunted and killed." Leah interjected.

"And now?" Javin asked.

"Now, we'll track them down and eliminate them." Leah said flatly.

"We need to track them, find out where they came from. I'll change." The man said, shrugging out of his coat. He was shirtless by the time that Leah stopped him.

"What about Hope?" She demanded, glancing towards the baby, who was no longer sleeping.

"The boy wolf can look after her." Klaus said, and she blinked in obvious surprise. "I thought you didn't trust them." She said carefully.

"You trust him." Klaus gave a little shrug. "And I trust you."

"I won't let you down." Javin interjected.

"I'll change." She said softly, but resolutely, moving closer to him. "I'll be a more helpful wolf than you. I've spent a lot of time adapting to my wolf senses and who knows, your reputation might actually help us."

"Fine." He said, but he hesitated, seeming to gauge her facial expression. She nodded once, and then stripped off her coat, handing it to him.

"I'll be back." She said, turning to come closer. She knelt over the baby cradle, and I could tell that she whispered something to the infant who was no longer sleeping, but I could not make out the actual words. I watched though as she kissed her daughter's head, and then stood and headed for the woods.

"No." Klaus protested.

"I can do this." She bristled.

"I know, but you Change here." He demanded, and I frowned. I was never present when people Changed, but what I understood from the process it was very private.

"I'm not Changing here." She said flatly.

"I can't follow you and watch you and also keep Hope, your sister, and the wolf boy here in sight, therefore you Change here." He took a step forwards her. "You're vulnerable during your change. No one is here yet, but I'm not taking any risks, Little Wolf." He kept a hand on her arm, leaning in to speak to her, and her dark gaze darted to us. "You have control of your wolf, you're a hybrid now, and you've spent enough time in wolf form." He spoke softly, but vehemently, and after a moment she frowned, and nodded stiffly.

"Fine." She acknowledged, and he nodded, taking a step back to give her the chance to start changing.

I watched in a mixture of rapt interest and horrified shock as she stripped without preamble. I tried not to stare at my sister's body as she stripped, heedless of the cold early April chill. She stood tall and proud for a minute, and I watched with helpless fascination as she knelt on the cold earth, carefully leaning forward on her hands and knees. She took a deep breath before a series of cracks rent the night air. I stared in horror, bile rising once more in my throat as I realized that what I was watching and listening to were all of the bones in my sister's body breaking. Beside me, Kaylya recoiled, horror clear on her pretty features as she watched with wide innocent eyes the transformation that my sister was experiencing. At her side, Javin reached out, placing a consoling hand on her shoulder, though the gesture seemed utterly inadequate as we watched Hayley writhe on the ground, her limbs slowly reshaping from their familiar human shapes until a large wolf stood in front of us. The whole process I realized had taken nearly 10 minutes. The wolf shook, stretching before letting her thick plumed tail wave through the air.

"That's Leah?" I heard myself ask without fully realizing that I had spoken.

"It is." Klaus replied, moving in front of Kayla, Javin, and I before she could approach. "We'll escort you back to the trailer, you'll take our car, and drive back to the bar, and then you'll call your pack, and you'll all stay there. I'll leave my phone number, if anything unusual at all happens then call me." He said and Javin, seeming to have shifted back into a pack mentality recognized that Klaus ranked higher than him in the wolf pecking order, nodded.

* * *

We left the woods at a pace slow enough to accommodate my awkward gait, the wolf not quite walking with us, but instead hovering nearby, just in sight. Klaus seemed to be more careful as we walked back towards the clearing, watching the wolf as though she could be a threat to us. I did not want to think of Leah as a danger to us, however, I knew from living with the Vermont pack that when in wolf form they were unpredictable and dangerous. Although Leah and Klaus seemed to be different from the pack that I had grown accustomed to, they were still wolves and, after the destruction that they had wreaked on the clearing in the human forms I shuddered to think what they could be capable of as wolves.

Klaus left us with their daughter by the cars. He handed Javin the keys, and after a moment of hesitation passed me the cradle.

"We will be back for her, so don't even think about taking her and running." He warned, and I could read the unspoken threat in his voice should anything ever happen to his daughter even as a low growl came from the woods. Whether Leah was warning us or Klaus, however, I was not sure.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer** : I still own nothing that infringes on the CW's rights/Julie Plec and her team's creativity (or rather, I only own it in my dreams)!

 **AN** : Thanks for the continued support! So sorry for the long break between updates, this summer has just been so crazy busy! I decided that in wolf form, Hayley can control herself, and retains her thoughts in spite of most wolves not being able to because of the amount of time that she spent as a wolf. In season I of _Originals_ , Jackson seems to be intelligent in wolf form, and later on in the beginning of Season 2, Hayley seems to be aware of her surroundings at times.

* * *

4.

Hayley POV

* * *

Fate must be laughing at me, I thought as I turned in the brush and began to track the men who I held responsible for attacking my pack. Both my packs, I reflected, as I heard Klaus follow me into the brush. He kept up with my pace with ease, though he let me lead the way. I used my olfactory senses to trace the men back the way that they had come.

I ran for about ten minutes, channeling my concentration so that I focused only on tracking the men, not letting myself dwell on Abby, Kayla, or even Hope. Klaus ran in silence as well, and I stopped only when the acrid tang of gasoline mixed with the men's trails. Klaus picked it up as well, slowing, and signaling for me to wait in the brush. I flattened my ears to show my distaste, but let him lead the way. I could already hear that the car was empty, and the lack of human heartbeats in the nearby area told me that it was completely deserted.

"Nothing." Klaus had wasted no time in searching the abandoned vehicle. He turned back to me. "Can you smell anything?" He asked. I turned my head, and began walking in a few circles. The vehicle was parked on the side of the road, pulled over, so it was hard to tell anything from the mingled scents of impersonal gasoline and lingering tar from the road. I shook my great head, and Klaus growled.

"Change back, and let's go get Hope. We'll have to try another way." He said. I gave him a wolfy glare, and then loped back into the woods, heading back towards Hollis' bar.

* * *

The walk back, however, gave me plenty of time to think, too much in fact. My first concern was Abby. My older sister was a gentle soul, even though she was a self-professed arachnophobe she hated to see even a spider killed. Now, I had gone and murdered half a dozen men in front of her. Maybe Abby had overcome the fact that I was responsible for her twin's death and her own obvious injury, but then to turn around and keep murdering in front of her. Part of me wanted to send Klaus in to retrieve Hope and then to flee, but I knew that that was not really an option.

I paused on the edge of the forest, watching the bar. From inside, I could pick up on voices, mostly male, almost all of whom were talking to Kayla. They, like me, were doing their best to comfort the kid and I felt the familiar pang that I endured every time that I thought of the rough transition that newly turned wolves endured. Adam, Sam, Phil, Tim, Kate, the voices and accompanying scents flooded into my senses, a bittersweet reminder of everyone who I had left behind.

Suddenly, my sensitive ears picked up another sound; the rumbling of an old motor. A beat up red truck pulled into the parking lot with a cloud of dust and a woman of petite stature jumped out. She had copper hair tied back in a messy bun, her skin was tanned naturally from being outside so much, and her walk told anyone who looked that she meant business.

When Sue Kimson stepped in, the bar fell silent. The wolves all recognized their alpha, and the tension seemed immediately seemed to increase.

"What's all this?" She demanded.

"Pack meeting." Phil rumbled, his deep baritone the only sound from inside of the bar.

"Who called it?" I could practically see Sue glaring around at her motley pack, "because I certainly did not."

"Hayley did." Hollis said, and I would have been able to hear a pin drop.

"Hayley Marshall?" Sue asked flatly, her voice edged in steel. "Since when do we take orders from Hayley Marshall?" She demanded a minute later, and I could only guess that Hollis had given her a non-verbal affirmation.

"Since she came back an alpha." Javin replied.

"Why's the human here and where on earth did that baby come from?" Sue snapped, ignoring the apparently larger problem.

"I'm here because Le-" Abby cut herself off, "Hayley," she corrected, "is my sister. You all know that, and I'm not about to leave. As for the baby, this is Hope, my niece."

"Sister or not, you're a human and this is pack business." Sue declared, and I felt a growl rise in my throat. At one time Sue had been my alpha, but like Javin had pointed out, I was an alpha in my own right now, or I had been. Abby had every right to be there, I knew I owed her as much of an explanation as I did the rest of the pack.

I emerged from the woods, and padded in through the open door. Sue turned, and for the first time in my life I saw her stare dumbfounded, while there were quiet curses from around the room. It took a matter of seconds before I rose to my full human height, ignoring my nudity as I looked at my former pack.

"Abigale stays." I declared. "She has as much the right to know what's going on as any of you do." I met Sue's glare evenly, refusing to bend before my old alpha.

"Well, I'll be damned." Sue said. "The little omega finally turned into an alpha. Whatcha doing back here, Marshall, I thought you were done with us backwater dogs." Sue had no love for me, I knew that, but neither was I about to bend back down to her.

"I was never a true omega, and you knew that from the start, didn't you?" I jumped right at her. "This birthmark," I whirled to show her the crescent-shaped mark, "the same one that you said you had no idea about, it makes me a Crescent." I glared at Sue, "and compared to you Green Mountain lot, we are wolf aristocracy, and you knew it. I'd stake my life that you also knew that they were all but wiped out, but still you sent me trotting off happy, expecting to find some long-lost family." I stepped forward, towering over Sue, who to her credit, did not back down.

"Can't deny any of that." She shrugged up at me. "Not sure though, why you decided all of a sudden to come back. Were your precious Crescents not good enough? Looking to expand your pack now?" Her eyes flashed back at me.

"I could challenge you here and now Sue for the pack, and I'd win." I said, and the tension rose even higher because everyone knew that I was right. "But I won't, and not because I like you but, because I respect you. Instead, I'm going to make you an offer, the heads of the bastards attacking your pack." Sue blinked.

"What do you know of the attacks? What rights do you have?" She growled, her hackles rising.

"I have the right as an alpha whose lost pack members to this same group, and I am offering you an alliance as one alpha to another alpha, to hunt them down and kill every last one." I replied, and for a moment my vision changed, and I knew that my eyes would have flashed gold.

"You aren't a wolf anymore, so what makes you think I'd accept your word as an alpha?" Sue demanded.

"My birth name is Andrea Lebonaire, the last of the Lebonaire wolf line. As a hybrid, I married Jackson Kenner, and we merged our packs as one. They accepted me as I was, and I made them into the strongest pack alive because I gave them the ability to change at will. If you refuse my offer, then I can promise you, it'll be the dumbest thing you've ever done." I turned away from Sue, looking over the familiar faces as I fought to gain this pack's trust.

"I'm not your alpha, but I am an alpha. I have fought for my pack, I've shed sweat, blood and tears to give them what they deserve. You might be a small back country pack of wolves, but I can give you back your dignity. Humans have driven you to this, a scrap of the pack that I remember joining. How long has it been since you last gathered at the Sanctuary? Since you ran under the full moon as a complete pack? I can give that back to you, the dignity of being a wolf. It's not a pretty life, I know, but honour isn't about living pretty, honour is about how you choose to live. So, do you want to keep hiding out in this backwater bar, or do you want to join your sisters and brothers as proud wolves?" I saw the stirring of energy, I could feel it, and I could smell the excitement that hung over the bar.

"You overstep, Marshall." Sue growled, her own eyes flashing gold, and the drop of excitement felt akin to a balloon popped with a pin. "You dare to come back here, and to sabotage my rule?"

"I would advise against trying to fight her, she's quite vicious you see, my Little Wolf." I had felt Klaus lingering outside, but suddenly he appeared inside, and the atmosphere tensed again.

"You're the Original hybrid, the one that turned Marshall into this beast." Sue snapped.

"Wonderful, you've heard of me." Klaus shot her a sardonic smile, and even Sue seemed about ready to take a step back.

"He's with me, Sue, and he's not going to do anything stupid." I glared at Klaus who promptly clasped his hands behind his back in a would-be-harmless gesture.

"Only so long as there is cooperation. You see Hayley is, without a doubt, the more reasonable of the two of us. She's also far more patient than I am, you see, time is rather of the essence here, and unlike her I make no promises not to fight you. Certainly my Little Wolf could kill you, but she wouldn't because she respects you. I hold no such qualms." I bit back a growl as I glared at Klaus, though he ignored it. The other wolves in the room rippled with visible agitation, though no one made a move. Instead, everyone waiting to see what Sue would do.

"Klaus." I growled in warning.

"We don't have time for pleasantries, Little Wolf." Klaus fixed me with a hard stare. "Those hunters are the same ones who were in the bayou hunting you and your pack, a coincidence, I think not. They know." There was a golden tinge in his eyes, and I fought my own reaction, names rising in my mind. Michael. Ben. Asher. Zoe. Wayatt. Anna. Faces flashed before my open eyes. My pack, the ones that these hunters had killed, they were all good wolves with family, friends, and futures. All dead wolves because of these hunters.

"Your pack? They know about wolves?" Sue might be a hard ass and determined to annoy me, but ultimately, when it came to the safety of her pack and the species you didn't want to cross her.

"They hunted her pack almost to extinction, now they turn up here also hunting wolves. There aren't enough wolf packs around for this to be a coincidence." Klaus said, and I had to admit that he seemed to be right.

"You think someone is hunting wolves. Why?" Sue demanded, meeting Klaus's gaze without fear, the gaze of a fellow alpha, I reflected.

"Why not?" Klaus countered, and it was a valid point. "Any normal vampire hates wolves, you kill with one bite, why not hire a human company to take out the wolves." He shrugged.

"Are your siblings behind this?" She demanded.

"No." I replied before Klaus could, and Sue's gaze shifted to me, just as Klaus also turned, though at a slower rate. His eyes twinkled, and I knew that any further protest of my love for his brother would be futile.

"Why do you defend them so ardently?" Sue demanded, her sharp gaze narrowing as it landed on the ring on my left hand. "You a Mikaelson now?" She accused me.

"No." I replied immediately.

"Practically." Klaus objected simultaneously, and I glared at him.

"Who put that ring on your finger?" Sue was done with preamble.

"Jackson Kenner, alpha of the New Orleans Wolves." I replied shortly, biting back an actual growl as I knew that Sue had heard when I had explained my situation earlier.

"And that's his baby?" Sue pointed to Hope.

"She's our daughter." Klaus stepped in, and for a moment Sue's head moved minutely back and forth as she looked from me to Klaus and back again.

"Before or after you were married?" She demanded.

"That's none of your business." Klaus snapped, saving me from having to answer.

"If I am supposed to work with you, to let you in to mingle with my pack, then I will decide what is and is not relevant." Sue growled. "And Marshall's conflicted interests certainly bring up questions." Across the room, Hope began to cry, and in a few measure strides I had arrived at my daughter's side, and scooped her up out of her carrier.

"My interests revolve around this little girl here." I turned back to Sue. "She's my daughter, and I won't stop until she can have a happy safe childhood."

"So that's why you've turned tail and run from New Orleans?" Sue demanded.

"Yes." Klaus took me by surprise, answering the question before I could respond. "You see," I sucked in an almost-silent breath and waited, "Hope is our daughter, she is the future of the Mikaelson family, and we will all do everything in our immense power to ensure that she is safe and happy. At the moment, that includes ensuring that the men who destroyed her pack are gone. You see, before his untimely death," I withheld a wince, "Jackson Kenner accepted Hope into his pack as a member of his own family, and so it was not only Hayley who lost her pack, but also my daughter Hope. Now, those same men are threatening your lives, and the lives of your loved ones." No matter what people would say, Klaus certainly had a way with words when he wanted, and this was a stellar example. "So, will you help me, and will you help Hayley, to avenge their pack?" The wolves were hanging on to his every word, you could feel it, and risking a glance at Abby, I could see that my sister was also captured by what Klaus had to say. It was hard though not to, and even I felt my blood rising, my wolf craving the feeling of the hunters' skin tearing under my teeth.

"And if I were to say yes, not that I am, what would you want from my wolves?" Sue demanded, and looking around the room, I could tell that she was perhaps the only person in the room who was apparently unmoved by Klaus's speech.

"Come with us. Find these men, and make sure that none of them survive." Klaus replied, and I looked over to him, in confusion. Sure, they were stronger than humans, but I of all people knew that they were far too vulnerable compared to Klaus and I. He caught my eye, and read my concern in my gaze. "Mostly though, I would ask that you all protect our daughter, a werewolf princess with the blood of two great bloodlines. She can be a queen of you all if you let her. She might have lost most of her own pack, but if you will accept her, then she can be raised with the knowledge of werewolf customs, she will be an advocate for your species." I watched Klaus, and I could see the hope burning in his eyes. He might have spent most of his thousand years as a vampire, and he might be the reason why many werewolves were dead, but his actions never made him less of a wolf, not really. We hadn't really talked about what our own wolf heritage meant for Hope, but hearing his words reminded me that no matter how many atrocities he had committed, he did genuinely want to be a good father to Hope, and that obviously meant acknowledging all of our daughter's unique characteristics.

"So you want me to volunteer to protect your child so that she might become the next alpha in my place?" Sue asked.

"No." I interrupted. "We want you to protect our daughter so that she can fight for your pack. If you become her family, she'll protect you as her family. You don't trust vampires, as a wolf neither did I, but Hope, she's going to have a foot in both worlds. Klaus and I have a foot in both worlds, I was a member of your pack, Sue, but you still don't trust me. If you were there to help protect and raise Hope, then would you trust her? She's a blank slate, and we're offering you the honor of being a part in her life, and in turn of having the chance to influence her, to teach her the ways of wolves." Sue stared back at me, her expression unreadable, and inwardly I held my breath. If she accepted then Klaus and I could count not only on Hope's safety, but on an extra 15 strong wolves in our fight.

"And say that we do take you up on this offer, we protect your daughter, teach her how to be a proper wolf," I ignored Sue's jibe, "what else is in this for us?"

"Protection, supplies, whatever you ask, if it is within my considerable power to grant, then you will have it." Klaus did not hesitate, and Sue eyed him again.

"We don't want your money." Sue said scathingly.

"I wasn't just offering that." He replied calmly.

"We are doing fine for ourselves right now." Sue reiterated flatly.

"I understand that, but I am sure that you always could use some kind of help." Klaus said.

"You're loosing wolves, why are they moving away?" I stepped in, again, looking around the familiar faces. "I left years ago, I don't see anyone new. How are you bringing in pack members?" No one disputed my obvious statement. "We can bring in new blood, we'll craft a legion of wolves if you want, an Alpha Council. Wolves could travel if they wanted, visit other packs, bring in new members, and not have to hide. You want to go to school? To explore the world? We could make that happen. You name it, we'll do what we can." I looked directly to Kayla. "Last time we talked, you wanted to go to Brown University. You still want that? I'll make it happen." I saw the spark in her gaze, though she knew better than to speak out.

"The Little Wolf is right. Packs are a dying tradition. We can help you be great again. You are the remnants of a once-mighty Green Mountain pack. Accept our help and we'll make you great again. Imagine, filling this room with one hundred pack members, with five hundred wolves, we can make that happen. It doesn't matter if you're all running on moons, we're not talking about making you have children who are cursed, we're talking about the culture and the traditions that your Pack has preserved for generations. Maybe one day changing wolves will be rare, but your traditions shouldn't have to die." Klaus took over for me, and looking at him and feeling the energy in the room rise, I realized that no matter how much we might have fought in the past, when we worked together then we were a powerful team.

"And, imagine a world where no one had to hide what they were. I changed, and had no idea because my family were persecuted for being wolves. No child should ever be put through that. No wolf should ever have to hide who she or he is. We are wolves, and we should be proud of that. We deserve that. So, will you stand with us, and be proud wolves?" I looked straight at Sue, and there was a certain gleam in her eye that told me that I had somehow struck a nerve. She might not like me, she might despise Klaus and the other Mikaelsons, but she was a proud Alpha, and she fought for her wolves, and for all wolves.

"We'll leave you to discuss with your pack." I turned to retrieve Hope, and found Abby moving towards me, still holding my daughter.

"I need to talk to you." My older sister said as I looked down at her, and I nodded once.

"Klaus, will you take Hope?" I looked over to him, and a moment later he had taken the cradle from me, and then I followed Abby out of the bar, carefully watching her limp in front of me, a pain filling my chest as I watched her each and every step, and felt entirely responsible for it.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Thanks again for reading! Please leave me a review! Sorry for how long it's been since the last update, I'll try to be better, I promise, but reviews could make me update faster too!


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer** : I still own nothing that infringes on the CW's rights/Julie Plec and her team's creativity (or rather, I only own it in my dreams)!

 **AN** : Thanks for the continued support! Sorry for how long updates have been! If you're still reading I'd love some input on what should happen next! Not really sure where this is going to be honest, but I really don't want to abandon it either!

* * *

5.

Klaus POV

* * *

I watched as Hayley left the room, and for a moment I wondered if I should follow her. In my arms Hope stirred, bringing me back to myself. I of all people should know that my Little Wolf could handle herself, and moreover, this was a family matter. Before I had the chance to change my mind and follow her out my cellphone rang. I sighed, glared around the room in silent threat, and stepped out.

"Elijah." I answered tersely, though half of my attention was still on where Hayley had disappeared into the brush.

"Brother, how are you?" Elijah asked tensely.

"What's wrong?" perhaps it was the thousand years spent at my brother's side, but I knew when something was not right.

"Freya's been kidnapped." there was no preamble, no time nor need for it, and immediately I tensed. Although I might not like Freya, she was still a Mikaelson, and anyone who made a move against my family would pay for it; in blood.

"Who took her?" in my arms I held Hope, gently rocking her to keep her happy even as I felt the anger flood through me.

"Lucien." Elijah's succinct reply told me that he was equally as angry about the events. "And you should know that Vincent has also disappeared."

"Hayley and I can be back-"

"No." Elijah cut me off, and I felt a cold smirk forming.

"You'll need us." I pointed out.

"No, stay where you are, you'll be safe there." Elijah insisted.

"You mean, Hope will be safe, right Brother?" on the other line I thought I heard a low growl.

"You, Hayley, and Hope should all stay where you are." Elijah repeated.

"The family is in danger, our place is at your side." I objected, my jaw clenching in annoyance.

"We're not in New Orleans, Niklaus, you can best help this family by making sure that Hope is safe." I did growl that time into the phone, but Elijah was unwavering. "How are you?" Elijah's tone told me that he was suspicious.

"We're fine." I was perhaps too hasty in my reply, and immediately Elijah caught my mistake.

"What happened? Is Hayley alright?" Elijah's slip was just as telling.

"Ah, so concerned for the Little Wolf, Brother." I chided, and I was certain that this time I did hear Elijah growl quietly on the other end of the line.

"Tell me, Niklaus." Elijah demanded coldly, and I conceded.

"The Little Wolf is fine, so are Hope and I, however, we've made quite the discovery here." I glanced over my shoulder at the god-awful bar behind me, and continued. "You see, Hayley sought refuge with her old pack mates, and it would seem that her own sister was on the look out for her, and so there's been a bit of a family reunion." I was sure that Elijah had tensed on the other end of the line because his quiet breathing stopped altogether.

"I see." Elijah said.

"And, of course, let's not forget the wolf hunters." I added in an overly cheery tone that I knew would make my older brother bristle.

"Like the ones from the Bayou?" Elijah asked immediately.

"Exactly the same actually." I ground out, my fingers digging into the cellular device in my hand.

"What exactly is going on?" Elijah bit out tersely.

"I'm not sure, Hayley and I were going to do some investigating." I admitted, my gaze shifting back to where Hayley had disappeared.

"But?" Elijah demanded.

"But, she's had some family issues come up." I replied, and in my arms Hope gave a disgruntled cry, reminding me that I had stopped rocking her.

"How's my niece?" Elijah sounded considerably more worried.

"She's fine." I snapped, looking down at the child in my arms as I rocked her quickly, trying to soothe the disgruntled frown on her ace.

"Niklaus." Elijah growled in frustration.

"She's fine, Elijah, she's my daughter, she's just fussy." I snapped, cradling the phone to my shoulder as I focused more on how fussy Hope was becoming. Before I could settle her, however, she gave a full bodied cry.

"Perfectly fine, right." I heard Elijah mutter, but before he could continue, Hayley was there.

"What did you do, Klaus?" she demanded, snatching the baby out of my arms.

"Nothing." I snapped again as she bounced Hope, and at once our daughter calmed.

"Niklaus!" Elijah demanded on the phone, and Hayley turned back to me, her eyes wide, as she stared at the device. I sighed, and held it out to her.

"He'll want to hear from you." I said, too softly for Elijah to hear it over the phone. She glared at me, but took it.

"Elijah," she said, and my eyes narrowed. There were few things that made Hayley Marshall sound nervous, but this was one of them. She walked away, still holding Hope, and from the brush, her sister appeared.

Abigail made her way towards me then stopped, looking to where Hayley was smiling gently into the phone; apparently unable to help herself.

"Who's she talking to?" Abigail asked.

"My brother." I found myself replying, and her sister turned to me with a raised eyebrow.

"But that's your kid, right?" she asked.

"Hope is our daughter, yes, it's complicated." I answered, knowing that I was barely scrapping the surface.

"Are you referring to the wedding band?" Abigail's blunt question made me smile slightly. I looked down at the woman that Hayley had been raised with and could see certain similarities between them. She was right, it was all ridiculous, but it had also become our lives, and we were lost in that. Before I could say anything, however, Hayley was walking back.

"Elijah and Finn will take care of Freya, he wants us to find out about the wolves." she said, meeting my gaze.

"Well then, Little Wolf, it seems we have our work cut out for us." I said, taking my phone back as she wrapped her arms around Hope.

"Lucien took Freya, and you're fine leaving Elijah to go after him alone?" she growled, and I smirked.

"Well, isn't this fascinating Little Wolf." I couldn't resist, and her eyes flashed gold for a moment.

"Klaus." her tone of voice warned that her hybrid temper was about to show itself, and given our current company even I figured that avoiding such a confrontation would be in our favour.

"Fine, fine, Elijah won't be alone, he has Finn." Hayley continued to glare at me. "I assure you, my older brothers are quite capable of handling themselves." if she wasn't holding Hope I felt fairly certain that Hayley would have lunged at me.

"We should go and help them." Hayley insisted.

"No, we're going to go after Kingmaker, I believe they're all linked." I watched her, seeing a flicker of indecision in her gaze. "You know that this is the same group who prosecuted your pack, Little Wolf." I reminded her, and she clenched her jaw.

"Fine, but we're leaving Hope here." she said, and I nodded.

"Of course."

"I'll look after her." I had half forgotten that Abigail was there, but when I met Hayley's gaze, inspiration struck.

"That would be wonderful." I said with a smile, while Hayley frowned at me. When Abigail turned her attention to Hayley, however, she quickly reformed her features into a smile.

"That would be great." she said with forced enthusiasm as I leaned forward and kissed Hope's forehead in farewell. As I straightened I saw Abigail's smile falter, and I knew that she had caught on to Hayley's hesitation, but she went inside the bar with Hayley who was already giving her sister instructions about how to care for her daughter.

I chose to wait outside, lounging against the driver's seat door, and sure enough a few minutes later Hayley reemerged.

"Are we going now?" she asked.

"Why not?" I replied, and she nodded.

"Who's driving?" I gave her a pointed look before I got into the car, waiting for her to go around to the passenger's seat.

"I'm calling Mary to come." she said as we pulled away from Willoughy Lake Bar.

"Why don't you trust your sister?" I asked. Hayley glared at me, her phone already pressed to her ear. I waited while she gave Mary the name of the bar, and asked her mother-in-law to come as quickly as possible to retrieve Hope.

Hayley ended the call and sat staring out of the passenger side window in silence. The longer it stretched the more sure I became that she was ignoring me. It was almost an hour and a half before Hayley finally shifted.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"The wallet you retrieved had this." I tossed the driver's license to her.

"Wallace Bradley." she read, before scanning the card for the address, and nodding.

"Why don't you trust your sister?" I repeated my question from earlier, and she sank into the buttery leather of the passenger seat, her jaw tight in an attempt to keep from grinding her teeth.

"It's not that I don't trust her." she spoke so long after I had asked that I had thought she went back to ignoring me. I waited in silence, my gaze locked on the road as I waited for Hayley to continue. "Abigail is a part of an old life. What we're used to is a lot, even for the Pack. They've already lost members, and wherever we go trouble follows. Mary knows everything that we've gone through, she knows what kinds of dangers to protect Hope from. Not only that, we're leaving Hope with a stranger. Mary knows Hope, and Hope knows Mary." Hayley said.

"And you don't want your sister to become the next Camille." I concluded.

"I don't." she agreed softly. "Abigail might think she understands what we're a part of, she might want to become a part of it herself, but she can't possibly comprehend it all. I don't want her to think that coming with us, that being a part of our lives is an option, because if she comes then she will die." Hayley looked over at me, and I could read the sadness in her gaze.

"Do you want her to be a part of your family?" I asked, and she bit her lip. "If there was no danger, if she would be safe, would you want her?"

"Yes. I would." her reply was so quiet that I almost didn't hear it. We sat in silence, Hayley fiddling with her fingers while she stared resolutely out the window. Finally, she lunged for the radio, tuning it to a local country station. I grimaced, but when she settled back, humming softly I decided against ordering her to change it.

* * *

We arrived at a small shabby house that was at least half an hour away from an semblance of a town. The drive was empty, and I parked our SUV unapologetically in front of the dilapidated drive. Hayley and I observed the house and then as one we exited the vehicle. Hayley dug her hands into her pockets as I led the way up the rotten porch steps to the door. It took barely any effort at all to break the cheap lock. We paused on the doorstep, and then I carefully placed a foot at the edge of the doorway. I cleared the entry without any resistance and Hayley followed me inside.

"We're looking for associates and any indication of where he came from." I said unnecessarily. She nodded, and marched back towards the kitchen, leaving me the dining room and sitting room.

We sifted through the junk in silence. It was clear that Wallace was not overly clean. I grimaced at the mess, but continued to search through junk mail. Hayley, finishing with the kitchen, headed upstairs. After about fifteen minutes, she returned with a faded envelope.

"Got it." she announced softly. I took the discarded envelope from her, reading the address and nodding.

"We'll be gone at least overnight." I said, and she nodded.

"We're going after Kingmaker. They destroyed my pack. I'm coming." We returned to the car, and the hideous country clamour. Glancing at the hybrid seated beside me, there was a hard determination in Hayley Marshall's gaze that made me glad to have her on my side. Of course, the Little Wolf was hardly an adversary to me, but she was a formidable foe in her own right.

* * *

We stopped that night in a motel. Hayley ran inside, and when she re-emerged there was a distinct edge to her as she perched on the edge of her seat.

"The only room that they have left is a single." she said.

"I see." I said, turning off the engine while she watched me.

"It's not like we've never shared a bed before." I pointed out, and she bit her lip. "And, I would prefer that to sleeping in the car." I added before I exited. She sighed, but followed me. I handed her the small duffle that she'd brought with her.

"It's this way." she said softly, and I followed her, noting that between her lack of objection and knowledge of the room's location she must have chosen to take it over looking for alternate accommodation. I smiled to myself, at her stubbornness.

She opened the door to reveal a sad-looking queen-sized bed with stereotypically terrible decor and the lingering scents of cigarette smoke, stale sex, and mould.

"Charming." I said, and she shot me a glare.

"You were the one who stopped the car here." she growled as she entered and dropped her bag on the side of the bed by the window. I entered, and put my bag opposite hers.

"Do you need the bathroom?" she asked.

"Ladies first." I replied, and she rolled her eyes, but disappeared into the small side room. I sat on the mattress, grimacing at the atrocious squeaks while I heard the shower turn on in the other room. I lay back against the bed, and flipped idly through TV channels until she emerged, hair damp in a too-small towel. For a moment, I couldn't help but eye her, remembering why I had been so intrigued by her the first time that we had ended up together. She was beautiful, and the fire in her gaze was something that I could identify with. She walked uncaring past me to her bag with the combined lethal grace of a hybrid. I stood and headed into the bathroom that was heavy with her scent and it made me think of Camille. I missed my therapist. As much as I wanted to deny it, I missed talking to her and being with her. I wanted this cheap bathroom to smell like Camille, not Hayley. A growl built in my chest but I cut it off, knowing that Hayley would have heard me, and not wanting to evoke questions I got into the shower instead. I turned it on, letting the hot water spritz temperamentally over my back for several minutes before I finally got down to business.

When I exited Hayley was on a Face-Time call with her sister, speaking to our daughter. Hope smiled innocently at the camera, easily distracted by her maternal aunt who played idly with our child. For a moment, I felt a pang of longing. Hayley's conversation with Abigail might be stilted, but the hostility that so often tinged my own conversation with my siblings was not there. If Camille was here I suspected she would be telling me to watch and learn. I had to force my thoughts away from Camille.

"Thanks again, for looking after Hope." Hayley said, and Abigail smiled.

"I'm happy to." Abigail said, looking down at our young daughter. "I want to be part of your lives, Lee." Hayley said nothing, but bit her lip as she fought a frown. "I know it's dangerous, and you think I'll just end up dead, but I'd rather be dead being your sister than living as a nobody."

"You don't even know half of what you're getting into, Abby." Hayley hesitated.

"Then tell me, Lee, you might be some great strong hybrid now, but you're still my baby sister, and whatever I can do, I want to be there. As a baby sitter, an aunt for your daughter, someone to talk to, please, we both lost Alexander, I can't lose you too. Not again." Hayley bit harder on her lower lip, her frown deepening.

"I don't want to lose you either, Abby." she admitted. "You're my family too, I thought that I lost you a long time ago, but we have to talk. Abby, you don't understand exactly what you're asking to be a part of." on the other line, Abigail sighed.

"Let's just wait and talk when you get back from whatever you're doing." Abigail forced a smile on her face, and for a moment I saw Hayley's own stubborn bravery reflected in her sister's gaze.

"Okay, sounds good." a small smile twisted Hayley' lips, almost as though she couldn't help it. She glanced up, and caught sight of me watching. I knew that her senses were too acute to not have noticed me exit the bathroom, but catching me staring at her openly was something else.

"I have to go, Abby, but we'll talk later? Give Hope a kiss for me, okay." Abigail kissed the side of our daughter's head. "Mommy and Daddy love you, Hope, we'll be home soon." Hayley waved through the camera with a smile. She glanced up and over at me, but I did not approach the bed.

The call ended, and Hayley dropped the phone back on the bed.

"Why didn't you come and say good night?" she looked over at me, and I shrugged.

"You were having a moment, I didn't want to interrupt." I said with a shrug of my own as I sat on the edge of the bed.

"Right, sure." Hayley pulled the covers back and crawled under them.

"Are you changing your mind about Abigail?" I asked as she laid down.

"No." she didn't turn towards me, but I heard her voice tremble.

"She's your family, Little Wolf. She doesn't have to be a Camille." I said, and Hayley froze.

"You can't promise me that and I can't promise her any safety either." Hayley spoke so quietly I almost couldn't hear her.

"But you're not the one who has to make any decisions. She's an adult, she can make her own choices." I reminded her.

"I'll think about it." Hayley replied before rolling over and turning off the light. My eyes adjusted automatically to the darker lighting, seeing the room with near-perfect clarity. I sighed, but got into bed, trying to ignore her slim figure beside me in the bed. The mattress bounced and squeaked as she continued to shift, tossing and turning. The last time that I had shared my bed with someone it was Camille and I had woken to find her lifeblood staining my hands. I groaned, and beside me Hayley froze.

"Sorry." Hayley muttered in the dark.

"It's not a crime to want your sister in your life, or to want her in Hope's life." I said softly, changing the subject and dragging my thoughts away from Camille once more. "We'd protect her as best we could."

"I know. Thanks." she replied, and then we fell still and silent.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** I still own nothing that infringes on the CW's/Julie Plec and her team's creativity :)

 **AN:** So good news and bad news… another update so yay! But, these characters aren't really speaking to me as frequently anymore, as evidenced by updates, so I've realised that since my inspiration for this story is ending the story itself has reached a natural end.

So, here's the last chapter! I hope you've enjoyed it and thanks to everyone for reading, favouriting and following! I'm still not really sure where this idea came from, but it was certainly fun to write! :)

* * *

 **6.**

 **Abigail POV**

* * *

I waited in the bar for Leah and Klaus to return. Hope was asleep I thought, she was a solid sleeper, but even if she woke up then the woman who had arrived in a hurry this morning was there. She said that her name was Mary, and she was Hope's grandmother, or at least as close as the girl was going to get to one. Mary also happened to be a wolf, and a damn stubborn one at that. She was, apparently, Jackson's mother, and when I had stared blankly at that remark she had let me know that Jackson was the name of Leah's deceased husband. Then, she had supplanted me as babysitter, and as hard as I'd tried initially to fight her for care of Hope, I was no match for a werewolf with mothering instincts on high alert.

Seated at the bar, my hands wrapped around a mason jar of moonshine, I felt a pang of guilt because I had not been there for Leah when she needed me and even now when she'd finally let me in I wasn't good enough. _Or_ , I wondered as I stared into the bottom of my moonshine, _did she ever need me?_ I was a crippled human and the woman that my baby sister had become was incredibly strong. I was weak compared to her, she was a fighter and a mother and I had no place in her life anymore.

"You can't know any of that, Abby." Hollis said, leaning across the well worn surface of the bar.

"What?" I looked up at him, and he offered me a conciliatory smile.

"You have that same look on your face as you do whenever you don't think that you're worth it." Hollis told me, and I forced a sad smile.

"I'm not." I looked up at the well-meaning man. "I'm just a human, and not even a particularly successful one at that Hollis. Leah's moved on anyways, and I'm not going to be the one to hold her back."

"Then what are you going to do?" he asked.

"I'm not sure." I replied honestly. Since I'd woken up after the accident all my attention had focused on finding Leah, and healing. I was as healed as I'd ever be, and now Leah was found and I was lost.

"Well you always have a place here." Hollis promised me.

"Thanks." I smiled, and slid away from the bar, taking my moonshine with me as I exited out the back, sinking gratefully onto the swing out back.

* * *

In my mind's eye I remembered what Leah used to be like, the kid sister who had looked up to me in awe, and I wished that I could have protected her from all of this. I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't notice that I had company, at least not at first.

The man stood beside me, his posture absolutely erect, one hand casually in the pants pocket of his suit, the other resting on the porch banister as he eyed me. How long he'd been there I was not sure, and I felt a flash of embarrassment for having been caught openly crying while he watched.

"Can I help you?" I forced myself to my feet, swiping at my tear-stained cheeks, and for a moment his gaze flickered to my bad leg. I met his gaze, stubbornly refusing to let his notice affect me.

"My name is Elijah," he readjusted his gaze, meeting my eyes. "Elijah Mikaelson." he stepped over to me in a single fluid motion, extending his hand.

"I'm Abigail, Abigail Clayton." I replied, taking his hand. "What can I do for you, Mr. Mikaelson?" I did my best not to eye the man who Leah had spoken to on the phone, but I doubted that I succeeded. At least, that was if his amused expression was anything to go by.

"I'm looking for Hayley and Klaus, and also for my niece. I was hoping you might be able to help me." he replied evenly.

"I'm sorry, they left a few days ago, I don't know where to or when they'll be back." I replied. Leah had trusted Elijah, but I didn't know him, and even though he gave me an impression of importance similar to how I'd felt in Klaus's presence I wasn't about to let a stranger know where my niece was. Plus, I'd already had to surrender to Mary, I didn't want to be bowled over again, at least not if I could help it.

"I see." Elijah eyed me with considerably more respect, noticing my defensiveness.

"How about if I simply join you in waiting then?" he suggested, and I rolled my eyes without thinking. "I'll wait in the bar then." he turned deftly.

"How do I know you are who you say?" I called after him, and he stopped, looking over his shoulder at me.

"You don't." he said and then he disappeared inside.

* * *

I sat back down, and took a swig of the moonshine. It burned on the way down, and without thinking much I lifted the mason jar to my lips again; drinking until I'd finished it.

"You know I'd never actually pegged you for a day drinker." I turned as I saw Leah exiting the bar. "I always assumed it would be me who was the one left behind. I always wanted to be like you and Alex." I slid over on the seat, and Leah sat beside me.

"We never once doubted you." I said lamely, and Leah smiled sadly, looking down at her hands. "Mary's with Hope, she's safe and there's a man, Elijah, who came looking for you." I reported.

"I know, I called Mary." Leah looked over at me, and I looked away from my younger sister's gaze. I felt like such a disappointment, unable even to babysit. "I didn't mean it to hurt you, Abby." Leah said.

"Then why did you do it, Leah?" I snapped. "You know what, never mind, I forgot, you're a hybrid, like Hope's dad and the rest of your friends are vampires and wolves and I'm just a measly little human." Leah blinked in shock at me, hurt flashing across her features before she masked the emotion.

"I'm sorry." I murmured, looking away as shame replaced the anger that had filled me. "I shouldn't have said that, I lost control."

"No, you were right." Leah also stood. "It wasn't because I didn't trust you that I sent Mary. I don't want to see you get hurt because of me, not anymore." her voice lost it's edge, and for a moment I wasn't looking at the immortal hybrid Hayley, I was looking at my baby sister again.

"You never hurt me the first time." I went to her in one limping step, and pulled her to me. "It was our mistake, Alex's and mine. We put you in danger, and you've never been to blame."

"But I was driving." she collapsed against me, and we half sank and half fell to the porch boards below. I don't know how long we stayed like that, nor did I care. We clung to each other, and the tears came for everything that we had lost.

* * *

Eventually Leah drew back, wiping at her eyes.

"I never thought I'd get to see you again." she admitted, and I laughed weakly.

"I never thought I'd get to see you either." I replied, tucking a strand of her dark shiny hair behind her ear. "Are you doing okay, Lee?" I asked her, calling her by the childhood nickname, and she gave me a sad smile.

"I wasn't for a while, but I'm managing. Klaus is helping, so is getting revenge." she replied.

"Do you want to talk to me about it?" I offered, and she hesitated. "You don't have to, not if you don't want, but I've been living with the Pack for a while now, I'm not some delicate flower. You're my sister, I won't judge you or turn you away, never."

* * *

The shadows lengthened and the porch filled with darkness. Inside the bar I could hear the dim rumble of voices, but I listened only to Leah. She told me everything, from when she ran to how she ended up in Mystic Falls and then pregnant and kidnapped. I wished that I had been there for her, especially as she told about having to send her baby away and pretend that Hope had died, and then of falling in love with Elijah but marrying Jackson. I could barely fathom everything that she'd gone through with the Mikaelson's aunt Dahlia after Hope and then being cursed and watching her pack hunted without being able to do anything. I half wanted to attack Klaus for that bit, but instead I stayed seated with Leah until she was finished. She'd cried again telling me about Jackson, and her own missteps and for the first time I realized how difficult it was for her to manage her hybrid nature at times. It was easy for my sister to kill now, it was something that some part of her reveled in, and yet she hated herself for it afterwards.

"What do you need me to do?" I asked finally when silence had stretched between us, and she sat beside me, her arms wrapped around her legs as though to make herself smaller. "I promised you before, do you remember?" she looked at me with wide eyes and for a moment I was looking at twelve year old Leah, not the beautiful woman in front of me. "When something happens to you, you come to me and if it's someone who's done something then they answer to me. I know I'm not as strong as you, not a fighter or a witch or feared by the world, but I'm on your side, so you tell me, what can I do?" she lunged at me, hugging me tightly as she broke down again. Part of me didn't think she'd ever really stopped crying, but then again neither had I.

"I don't know." she whispered. "I don't want anything to happen to you, and humans around us have a tendency to end up dead."

"I can't promise anything about not ending up dead, but if you want me there then I'm there, and if that's too dangerous for me in your mind then I'm only ever a phone call away." I promised, and she nodded. Inside the bar, a baby cried, and her head whipped around. "Let's go see your daughter, she's missed you." I said, and Leah rose, extending a hand and helping me up. We walked back inside the warm, brightly-lit bar. Elijah sat, bouncing Hope on his lap while Klaus watched carefully and Mary glared from the corner. She stood and went over to Leah at once, and my sister drew her to the side while I went tiredly to the stools, taking a seat on one several down from Klaus.

Leah rejoined us a few moments later, walking over to Hope, and taking her daughter from Elijah. For a moment their eyes met, and then she ducked her head, and he looked away. Leah walked back over to me and sat down while Hollis put two plates in front of us.

"You missed dinner earlier." he offered in explanation. Leah ate one-handed, cradling her daughter to her.

"What about you?" she asked as we began our dinner, and for the next hour or so I told her about my life. There wasn't much. A couple of exes, a lot of physiotherapy and a few surgeries to help my leg. I told her about our parents being dead and she nodded silently. After everything that happened to us we'd mourn them one day, but not yet. We needed to heal, being together once more made their betrayal of Leah sting too much to mourn them now.

"What do you want to do with your life?" she asked, and I shrugged.

"I haven't really thought much about it." I replied.

"You'd make a really good therapist you know." I could have sworn for a moment Klaus turned, flinching slightly, but it had only been out of the corner or my eye.

"I've thought about it, but school's expensive." I shrugged, and suddenly Leah perked up, looking over at her shoulder, and a moment later both Mikaelsons were standing there.

"Money's not a problem love." Klaus said, as he reached out to take Hope back. Leah barely hesitated as she handed her daughter to her father.

"What do you mean?" I was confused, and then his words hit me. "I can't—" I began to protest.

"Yes, you can." Elijah interrupted. "You're Hayley's sister, and that makes you our sister-in-law. You're family, and it is the least that we can do." I blinked in surprise.

"Just accept, they're filthy rich." Leah murmured, turning back to her food. "It comes with being thousands of years old." she added as I looked from brother to brother.

"Name the school, love, and we'll do the rest. You'll be in, enrolled, and you'll never want for anything else in the rest of your life." Klaus promised. I swallowed, my throat suddenly dry as I realized: I had a family again. I hadn't just found Leah, somehow, for some reason I had gained the rest of a family and, no matter how messed up they might be, that meant something to me.

* * *

 _Epilogue_

 _Six Months Later_

* * *

I took a deep breath as I walked out of my first university lecture. Psychology 101 was perhaps not the most interesting of classes, but it felt good to be back to school. The other students looked at me with mixed pity and curiosity because of my handicap, but I ignored them. I was used to such treatment. In my bag, my phone rang, and I picked up on the first ring.

"How're things going? Are you guys safe?" I asked immediately.

"We're fine. I just pulled over for gas. I know, today's your first day, how's it going?" Leah asked.

"So far it's great." I replied honestly.

"I'm glad." I could hear the smile in her voice, though it remained tense.

"Are you sure that I can't do anything for you?" I asked, worrying my lower lip.

* * *

Since Leah had come back into my life I'd determinedly kept in contact with my little sister, and things hadn't gotten any easier. Cami, Klaus's lover and a friend to all of them had died. So too had her Kol, her brother-in-law's, teenage lover; a witch who Freya, her older sister-in-law, and Elijah had condemned. I wasn't sure how I felt about it all, but when Leah had called a two months ago in tears because all the Mikaelsons were in a magical coma to keep them from dying, I had been even more lost. I hadn't really gotten to know any of the Mikaelsons well, but I'd spoken to them a few times through video chat and Leah's news usually incorporated all of them, not to mention that they were paying my schooling.

True to their promise, I had named my top five programs. I should not have bothered to name five because less than an hour after I told Leah I received a personal call from the head of Admissions, offering me a place. A new bank account was also in my name, and the guilt I'd initially felt at the beginning for using it was subsiding, slowly. That was mainly thanks to Leah's insistence that they wanted to help me but didn't know how else to connect or help me. I meditated on that, promising myself I'd pay them back, somehow.

When I did on the rare occasion speak to them they always inquired after my plan to study, and I was sure if they were still here they'd be inquiring about my education. We had lives in separate worlds so getting to know each other would take time, but they were doing their best and I had to thank them for that.

When Leah had made her call, however, that she was alone with Hope and scared I'd gone to her immediately. I'd been able to do little except navigate and occupy Hope, but she'd thanked me for my time and company as we drove somewhat aimlessly, wanting to lose any potential tail that she might have picked up as we tried desperately to come up with ideas for how she could find ideas. Well, I did little in that regard but listen and offer usually useless suggestions.

A week ago, however, she'd stubbornly put me on a bus back to school. She said she didn't want to lead any potential enemies to where I was studying, which I understood. I had said a tearful farewell, trying to beg her to let me stay, but she had not relented.

"Go, live your life, for me, Abby." she'd demanded, and unable to ever tell my baby sister no, I'd gone.

* * *

"I'm sure, just tell me about classes. Any cute boys?" I laughed out loud into the phone, drawn back to our present conversation. Sitting down on a sunny bench, I gave her all the details. I didn't care about the students passing by, or any of the strange looks I got. I was back in school, I had a future, and best of all I had my Leah back. Whatever was to come with regard to the Mikaelson family, I'd help her and I'd support my niece and we'd face it together as a family.


End file.
